Rep. Darrell Issa introduces a ‘don’t mess with the Internet for two years’ bill

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Yet, when it comes to the Internet, there are plenty of politicians who believe something is broken.

But many active Internet users — especially those that frequent community news sharing site Reddit — wholeheartedly disagree. With this in mind, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced a new piece of legislation yesterday that, if signed into law, would prevent politicians from passing laws or regulations that might burden the Internet over the next two calendar years.

Over the last two years, congressional leaders have attempted to pass a handful of really bad laws or international trade agreements (including SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and CISPA) that would have tragically warped the Internet. Each of the failed laws promised to prevent digital theft/piracy, protect privacy, or afford the government greater leeway to carry out these actions.

Issa has rallied against these bills. In the past, he’s participated in Reddit Q&A AMAs (Ask Me Anything) to help explain bad tech policy, and he’s helped create the Internet Defense League. He’s sort of an unofficial champion for Reddit users, which could explain why his new bill’s official title is the Internet American Moratorium Act or IAMA for short — that’s the same abbreviation used for another of Reddit’s popular Q&A sessions, “I Am A…”